Birmingham comic Jo Enright's the short star with a big future

SHE’S the short star with a big future ahead of her – thanks to Ricky Gervais.

SHE’S the short star with a big future ahead of her – thanks to Ricky Gervais.

The Office and Extras creator has cast Jo Enright in his next TV comedy. And despite being only 4ft 10in, she’s actually one of the tallest stars in the show.

That’s because she plays the wife of dwarf Warwick Davis. He’s 3ft 6in and has appeared in movie blockbusters including Star Wars and Harry Potter.

Together, Warwick and Jo will star in Life’s Too Short, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant for the BBC.

Jo, from Erdington in Birmingham, said: “I feel very tall next to Warwick. It’s about the only time I’ve ever towered above someone.

“We’ve just finished filming the pilot and will shoot a full series over the summer. Ricky and Stephen are mainly behind the camera, but also have cameo roles playing themselves.

“It’s filmed in a documentary style like The Office and Extras, following Warwick in his day to day life.

“He is very funny and brilliant at improvisation. The audition was me going into a room and improvising a scene with Warwick.

“It’s a very small cast, in every sense of the word! It also includes Rosamund Hanson, who played Smell in This Is England.”

Urinals

Jo, 40, is a former pupil of St Edmund Campion Catholic School who worked in Kwiksave, ran a launderette and cleaned urinals for Birmingham City Council before making a living in the world of comedy.

She’s a stand-up comic who got her TV break through Peter Kay, who cast her as his Brummie girlfriend in an episode of Phoenix Nights.

She also appeared as a singer in a wheelchair in the fictional group 2 Up 2 Down, rivals to Peter’s character of Irish dinner lady Geraldine in his spoof Britain’s Got The Pop Factor And Possibly A New Celebrity Jesus Christ Soapstar Superstar Strictly On Ice, which is repeated on Channel 4 on Saturday.

Jo starred alongside Chris Addison in the BBC2 sitcom Lab Rats, but her next project brings her back home to Birmingham.

She is to feature in the film NFA, which stands for No Fixed Abode and is made by 104 Films. They take their name from the bus route from Sutton Coldfield to Birmingham city centre and will spend three weeks shooting the £100,000 movie in the city in May.

It’s about homelessness and will give 30 young homeless people from the charity St Basil’s the chance to learn skills working as members of the cast and crew.

The story surrounds a man in his thirties, who is married with a child and decent job, but who wakes up in a hostel for homeless people with no idea how he got there.

Jo plays a woman who works in the hostel.

She said: “I’m very pleased to be involved in NFA and doing something that has substance.

“It’s not a comedy, although it is quite funny in places and has a warm feel to it.”

104 Films specialise in movies about disabled or socially disadvantaged people, producing the award-winning film Special People as well as co-producing the Ian Dury biopic Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll starring Andy Serkis.

NFA will also feature David Proud, an actor and wheelchair user with spina bifida who was given his big break by 104 Films before going on to become the first disabled regular on EastEnders. He was Adam Best, the son of Josie Lawrence’s character Manda.